{"id":2263,"date":"2026-09-13T13:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T13:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kourentzes.com\/konstantinos\/?page_id=2263"},"modified":"2026-09-13T13:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T13:36:19","slug":"desktop-delinquents","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kourentzes.com\/konstantinos\/index.php\/desktop-delinquents\/","title":{"rendered":"Desktop Delinquents: Desktop Pets with Useful Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Five animated desktop pets, a sharp sense of humour, and a useful trick behind every cute face.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your desktop has enough serious things on it. Spreadsheets. Deadlines. A folder called \u201cFinal\u201d that contains three more folders called \u201cFinal\u201d. Desktop Delinquents adds something it has been missing: company with questionable manners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the desktop pets of the 1990s, this Windows application brings a dog, a cat, an alien, a robot and a dragon onto your desktop. They wander over open applications, pull faces, perform little routines and occasionally start a conversation that the rest of the gang cannot resist answering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a practical side to the chaos, too. Each pet has its own tool: file shortcuts, a focus timer, screen text recognition, saved text snippets or reminders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Release status:<\/strong> Desktop Delinquents is currently a preview, with a Microsoft Store release in preparation. The features shown here describe version 0.8.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Biscuit<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Meet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meet the gang. Promotional composition using the application’s actual pet artwork.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little desktop nostalgia, with better things to do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you remember recording mixtapes, losing your internet connection when someone picked up the phone, or installing software simply because it made your computer more entertaining, you will recognise the spirit of Desktop Delinquents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pets live in transparent windows over your desktop and open applications. They can wander along the bottom of your work area, just above the taskbar. An optional, experimental setting also lets them use File Explorer window edges as ledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick them up and move them around. Double-click one for its individual animation. Leave them alone and they will get on with being mildly ridiculous. You choose which pets appear when the application launches, and you can add more during a session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet the five troublemakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Biscuit the dog: \u201cFetch!\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Biscuit loves everyone. Especially your socks. His enthusiasm also makes him a useful keeper of the files and folders you open repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop a file or folder onto him, or add it through his tool window. Biscuit remembers a shortcut to the original location. Choose Fetch!<\/strong> to open it again. He can also keep a shortcut to an application executable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your files stay where they are. Removing an item from Biscuit’s list removes the shortcut, not the original file. If you move or delete the original, you will need to update the saved shortcut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chairman Meow the cat: \u201cDo not disturb\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chairman Meow was not there, did not do it, and would appreciate fewer questions. His contribution is a focus timer that asks the entire gang to settle down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start a 15-, 25- or 45-minute session, or choose your own duration from 1 to 240 minutes. Roaming, conversations, tricks and pet sounds stop while the cat sleeps. When the session ends, the application lets you know and the gang can resume its usual behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timer controls the pets; it does not block websites or silence other Windows applications. Dragon reminders continue to work, and your manual hide setting remains respected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"English<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The cat’s focus controls. Rendered from the current English interface.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zorb the alien: \u201cWhat does this say?\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zorb came looking for intelligent life. For now, he is helping with the text trapped inside pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose a display and an OCR language, click Scan area<\/strong>, then drag a rectangle around the text you want to read. Zorb uses the Windows text-recognition engine to turn that image region into editable text. Review the result and copy it when you are happy with it. Press Esc<\/strong> to cancel the selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be useful for a screenshot, an image, or a scanned document displayed on screen. English and Greek are supported when the corresponding Windows OCR language pack is installed. Recognition runs locally, and accuracy depends on the size and clarity of the original text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zorb's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Select<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Select the area yourself, then check and copy the recognised text.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dial-Up the robot: \u201cSaved it\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dial-Up thinks in instalments and occasionally freezes with style. Fortunately, his notes are more dependable than his dance moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His snippet shelf keeps text you deliberately save: a frequently used reply, a small checklist, a useful phrase or a note you want to find again. Add a title, edit an entry, mark favourites and search by title or content. A copy button puts the selected text on your clipboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a manually maintained collection. Dial-Up does not watch your clipboard or automatically record everything you copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Robot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Save<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Save the words you actually want to keep. The example shown uses fictional sample text.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cinder the dragon: \u201cReminders\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cinder once made toast. The neighbourhood still remembers. Give him something less combustible to look after: your next reminder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write a short note and choose 5, 20 or 60 minutes, or set a specific date and time. When it is due, Cinder uses a Windows notification to remind you. Open the list to snooze it for ten minutes or mark it done by removing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The application must be running to deliver a reminder. If it was closed when the reminder became due, the pending reminder is picked up on the next launch. Entries stay in the list until you remove them, even if Windows notifications are disabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dragon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Cinder's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cinder’s reminder list, shown with fictional sample data.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One pet starts it. Everyone else makes it worse.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At intervals, one pet opens a conversation and the others reply. Think of it as a tiny chorus with very little supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho wants to grow up?\u201d<\/strong>
\u201cThe avocados!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy does it smell burnt?\u201d<\/strong>
\u201cThe dragon made toast!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every speaker has a separate bubble. The opening line sits closer to the pets, with answers on higher levels. When a crowded screen cannot fit everyone, replies appear in groups instead of covering each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The humour draws on everyday absurdity, pets, nostalgia and grown-up sarcasm. Some dialogue packs contain adult language; cute artwork does not make every line suitable for children. You can select packs, disable individual lines, and write your own question-and-answer exchanges in the local editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dialogue packs can also be exported and imported as files. Sharing is up to you: the application does not upload your dialogue library to a community service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You decide how much company you want<\/h2>\n\n\n\n